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Social justice

Maryknoll missioners around the world feel the impact of social injustice and see its effects in the communities were they live and work. Flowing from their ministries of presence and accompaniment, as well as from the concrete programs and projects in which Maryknollers participate, we engage in the hard work of identifying root causes of social and economic injustice. With a particular focus on the geographical regions where Maryknoll is present, as well as on structural or systemic injustice affecting women, children, indigenous peoples, migrants and refugees and people with HIV and AIDS, we join with others of like mind to identify potential pathways to social transformation and to move our world in that direction.

The following statement was approved on September 6, 2006 by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers General Council, the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic Congregational Leadership Team, and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners Association Leadership Team.

From SOA Watch: This past Saturday and Monday (September 22-24), two human rights lawyers, Antonio Trejo and Eduardo Diaz, were brutally murdered in Honduras, bringing to over 60 the number of victims caught in the struggle for life and land in the Bajo Aguan in Honduras. The debate over the production of food for families versus bio-fuels for corporations has reached a high note.

The U.S. Robin Hood Tax Campaign applauded the introduction in Congress of a bill that would impose a tax on Wall Street speculation. Introduced by Rep. Keith Ellison, HR 6411, the Inclusive Prosperity Act, would raise up to $350 billion in annual revenues that would be used to breathe new life into Main Street communities across the U.S., as well as international health, sustainable prosperity and environmental programs.

After nearly 30 years, Efrain Ríos Montt finally will face trial for genocide and crimes against humanity. Ríos Montt was Guatemala's president for 17 months during 1982 to 1983, when at least 1,771 people were killed, 1,445 raped and nearly 30,000 displaced, the bloodiest period of the country's brutal 36-year civil war. The following article was published in the March-April 2012 NewsNotes.

The Inclusive Prosperity Act, currently in draft form, will be introduced this Friday by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). Please contact your member of Congress as soon as possible and ask him/her to sign on as an original cosponsor of the legislation.

The following reflection was prepared by Judy Coode in 2014, while working with the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. Ms. Coode is the coordinator of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, a project of Pax Christi International.